Trident Vitality Vigorate

In the world of sugar-free gum, 5 Gum and Extra are at the top, at least to me that is. That isn’t to say that I don’t like other brands of gum, it’s just that my preference leans towards these two. I don’t mind a stick of Stride every now and then or some Orbit on occasion. However, I typically am not a fan of Trident. Their “Layers” line of gum is good, but everything else seems to fall short. Maybe it’s because their pieces are smaller or maybe it’s because their flavors aren’t quite right. I’m not sure what it is about Trident, outside of the Layers line, that doesn’t appeal to me. Recently, they have come out with a new line of gum called “Vitality”. Since it was on sale at Target, I decided to buy some and see if it would change my views on Trident.

The box is very nice and I figured that I couldn’t go wrong with a flavor like strawberry and citrus. If you notice, it also says that there’s Vitamin C in the gum. I’m not sure how well that works as a marketing strategy, but okay.

This is the nine piece package. There’s nothing special about it; it resembles all other gums that are in hard shells.

The inside of a piece of Trident Vitality gum. Yes, I did bite it.

The initial bite and the few chews after were very pleasing. The flavor resembled that of most other citrus flavored gums. I didn’t quite detect any strawberry flavor. How good a sugar-free gum is based on, in my opinion, how good the flavor is and how long the flavor lasts. While the first few minutes of chewing were pretty good, the flavor went away rather quickly. It didn’t disappear altogether, but it mellowed out quite a bit. I like my gum to usually have lasting power for at least past the ten minute mark if not more. Overall, this Vitality line is nothing compared to the 5 Gum and Extra. If anything, I think Trident should put more effort into their Layers line and develop more flavors. The Pineapple-Apple flavor is one of my favorite flavors of gum, but the Melon-Mint is not good. On a side note, I want to see gum makers make a cherry flavored gum and lime flavored gum. The Key Lime Pie flavor of Extra’s Dessert line does not count.

Trident Vitality Vigorate: 7/10

Meiji Coke Flavored Cotton Candy Gum

If you recall, last Summer, my friends Phil and Karina, brought me many candies from their trip to Japan. One of the candies that I was very fond of was a grape flavored cotton candy that had popping candies inside of it. Since then, I have found that there are some markets in the U.S. that carry that candy, which is still as delicious as I remember it. On the back of the package, the English label labels it as Chewing Gum. I suppose that it was easier to label it as Chewing Gum instead of Cotton Candy with Poprocks. Next to it, I also saw another candy in a similar package that was also labeled as Chewing Gum. I decided to take a risk.

Ninjas blowing a bubble and a frog. This has the makings of being a great candy. I felt the package, and it was as soft as the grape cotton candy from before, if not a bit more uniform and packaged, so I decided to give it a try. If it's endorsed by those characters up there, how could I lose?

A tuft of the cotton candy

There was no popping when I ate it, so I was a bit disappointed, but it did taste like cola, sot hat was good. However, at that point where cotton candy's supposed to melt away in your mouth, the candy began to turn into chewing gum. Eventually most of the cotton candy in my mouth turned into cola flavored chewing gum, which was delightful. I have to say, I would have liked it to have the popping candy and some more tart flavor. I think if there was some pop and a bit of sour flavor it would have put this candy over the edge. Otherwise, it's a very interesting candy, and one that my students enjoy. There aren't other candies readily available that can do this.

Meiji Coke Flavored Cotton Candy Gum: 9/10

Let's keep on rolling while I still have ideas

Alright I just thought of something, cinnamon gum. Sugar-free cinnamon gum to be specific. Let's talk about it.

Ah yes, Big Red, the cinnamon flavored gum that every person is first introduced to. Big Red is undoubtedly the king of cinnamon gum. However, like its brothers Juicy Fruit and Double Mint Gum, Big Red has yet to have a sugar-free version of it. Another thing that Big Red has going against it is the fact that, again like its brothers, it starts out strong but the flavor fades rather quickly. It's like watching a movie with a great intro, a mediocre middle, and a bland, chewy end.

So let's get on to the sugar-free varieties:
Orbit was probably my favorite brand of gum not too long ago, but something changed. I'll say it was the packaging. However, this post is about Cinnamon Orbit in particular. So let's start with the positives. It's a cinnamon gum. That's about all I got to say about the positives. The negatives, well, I wouldn't say are really all that negative. It starts off subtle and stay subtle throughout. Unlike that jerk Big Red, there are no promises of intense flavor or anything of that sort. Instead it starts out slow and keeps that same subtle flavor throughout. This gum is like the tortoise in "The Tortoise and The Hare"; it's roll is slow, but it keeps on rolling.
Trident, while not my favorite brand of gum, actually surprised me with their cinnamon gum. When I got this gum for $1.50 for two at Safeway, it only made things that much better. The scent of the gum is quite unique when compared to other cinnamon gums. The scent is a much sweeter scent and the flavor is pleasant, but not great by any stretch of the imagination. The flavor starts out with a nice, sweet flavor and then transitions well as it loses flavor. Something that hurts this gum is the size of the pieces are quite small. Because of this, the pieces of gum tend to lose flavor faster than other brands of gum.

Despite the box saying "Spicy Cinnamon", don't be fooled, this gum is anything but Spicy. A problem I've always had with Dentyne is that they always use this kind of packaging. On occasion I've crushed pieces of gum or popped them into oblivion and have never been able to find them ever again. If you chew the recommended two piece serving Dentyne is alright. It has a nice shell, unlike the other gums, and it has a nice flavor to it. However, I don't remember being able to blow bubbles with it very well. A minor gripe, but that indicates that the gum is a bit too tough or rubbery for my liking. I think Dentyne has finally stepped up their game and made the flavor last longer than it used to. Despite its texture and packaging, I wouldn't mind buying Dentyne "Spicy Cinnamon" again.



Ah, arguably my favorite of the cinnamon gums. Stride and Extra are fighting over my heart as my favorite gum brands. With Stride "Uber Bubble" and Extra "Sweet Watermelon", I just don't know what my favorite gum is anymore. And while all this is happening, Trident decides it wants in on the action and puts out Trident "Layers", "Green Apple + Golden Pineapple", quickly becoming a favorite. Stride "Sweet Cinnamon" is an example of how you do things. Its smell is undoubtedly cinnamon and its flavor is very good. The flavor lasts longer than other gums and the cinnamon smell sticks with you long after the flavor is gone so you know that you're not eating a wad of paper. The texture holds up well after long hours of chewing, unlike Extra which tends to turn overly soft after long periods of chewing.

While Stride "Sweet Cinnamon" would be my top choice if I were to pick a sugar-free cinnamon gum, it would be hard to rank the rest. They all have their pros and cons, so based on what I have put forward you can make your decision. Now let me tell you about the absolute WORST SUGAR-FREE CINNAMON GUM I HAVE EVER HAD. Well, it seems as if the gum I'm referring to doesn't have its picture on Google Image Search, or rather one I'd want to use, I'll just tell you what it is. Starbuck's Sugar-Free Cinnamon Gum is bar none, the worst cinnamon gum I've ever had. The smell isn't the typical cinnamon we're all used to, it's a minty cinnamon. Think about it, minty cinnamon. The pieces are...round discs that aren't crunchy, they're just hard. The flavor isn't right at all. It's like someone put peppermint gum in the tins and sprinkled cinnamon over the gum. Also it is BY FAR the most expensive gum, coming at over $2 for a tin. The gum is bad, but the tin is nice...until you realize you can't fit ANYTHING in that thing. You're paying $2 to be trendy I guess.